This book was okay. I found it hard to connect with the characters and was not able to relate to them. The storyline was good and it did offer suspense. A big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc!

Abby, reeling from the death of her fiancée Eszter, visits the secluded island of Isla Colel, where Eszter tragically died, hoping to meet up with some friends Eszter made there and gain some insight into her death. However, the group seems a little strange and guarded, and when one of them goes missing shortly after Abby’s arrival, she is convinced that they are hiding something from her. The Last Ferry Out is part mystery, part love story, and the author does a great job of melding the two into a suspenseful and heartfelt book. The writing is eloquent, the characters are interesting, and there’s no shortage of surprises as Abby has a fierce determination to uncover the truth about her fiancée’s death, and the power of love is on full display. Highly recommended. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There were a few pieces that I felt were missing from the book but I thought the plot was interesting. I just needed it to be a bit faster to get into. The last third of the book was great! I’ll continue to read this author.

"When Abby sets foot on Isla Colel, she isn’t sure what she’ll find—but she knows she needs answers. Her fiancée, Eszter, died there under mysterious circumstances, and the only way to make sense of her loss is to confront the island’s secrets herself."

I had a little trouble getting into this at first. I found it slow and it was hard to keep my attention. But about a third of the way through, the story starts to take off, and is a constant string of twists and turns up until the very last page!

I received this novel as an Advanced Reader copy. Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Abby lost the love of her life after a tragic accident. She’s going to the island to see if she can piece together how she lost Eszter. While there, she meets many people who have tidbits of information about the accident. She meets one man who says he knows what “really happened”, but then he disappears prior to her getting any information.

This was a solid, but basic thriller. It is a dual-timeline book and goes over many of the characters' backstories. It’s one of the books where everyone feels like a suspect. It was well-paced except for the middle it slowed down and was a bit boring. The characters were decently developed, but they still felt a little one-dimensional. The ending had a decent conclusion. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a solid mystery thriller.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Books for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

This book didn’t resonate with me. I had a hard time getting interested in the characters. The plot had a lot of promise, and I had hoped it would live up to that potential, but it fell short for me.

Because of @cece_lyra_agent I keep a magic notebook full of things from books that move me and uses of language that thrill me. After reading this book I filled three more pages. @andibartz use of words is absolutely gorgeous. Her characters feel so real I could practically see the small pores of their skin. The setting was beautiful and immersive. There are twists and turns but what I really loved about this story was the nuanced moments between the characters. I loved it.
Thank you @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for the arc.

Andrea Bartz delivers an emotional and compelling thriller that interrogates what it is to be an expat and claim some place that doesn't actually belong to you. Great twists and characters.

Another amazing thriller from Andrea Bartz that is full of twists and turns!

I think of all her books, which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, this one was my favorite! I really liked how much heart was in it and it also made me kind of sad. The writing was great and the story was fast paced.

Getting to know each of the expats was so much fun. I love that I never knew who to fully trust until the very end.

Isla Colel felt so real and like a character just as much as the rest of the gang. The descriptions made it feel so lifelike that I almost felt like I was there. This book makes me want to sit on the beach or be somewhere tropical and sip a fruity drink and befriend some strangers. Just thinking about traveling to a small island like that and making friends along the way seems so scary but also so much fun. What an adventure!

Smart, exciting, twisty and heartbreaking. Andrea Bartz takes you on a journey you will never forget.

📚🏝 The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz 🏝📚
Genre: Thriller
Length: 320 pages
POV: Dual, plus 2 timelines
Pub Date: May 20, 2025
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to Random House Publishing for the e-ARC of this book. The opinions stated here are solely my own.

Synopsis:
Abby makes a trip to Isla Colel, a small island near Cancun, Mexico, to find out what happened that caused the death of her fiancée, Eszter. After arriving, she realizes that there were things Eszter was hiding from her as she made friends and acquaintances with some of the locals and expats that lived there.

Abby tries to piece together Eszter's last moments while exploring the island and getting to know the people who spent time with her. Unfortunately, she uncovers more questions than answers while receiving strange messages that make her wonder just how well she actually knew Eszter at all...

Opinion:
Overall I did enjoy this book and the mystery of Eszter's death. I found Abby's determination to uncover the truth very engaging and I thought all the side characters on Isla Colel were all equally interesting. There were a lot of back stories that made you suspect so many different people along the way. The truth of everything was possibly the one thing that made this book not quite make it to four stars, but it was still worth reading.

Solid 4 stars, I was pleasantly surprised by this book! Face paced, told from different points of view, good set of suspects. and wrapped up nicely. Everything I look for in a book!

I can't wait to read what Bartz comes up with next.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly rate this book!

I went into The Last Ferry Out with cautious optimism. After not loving We Were Never Here, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Andrea Bartz’s latest novel—but I’m not one to give up on an author after one book. Luckily, I was able to get an ARC of this one, and I’m so glad I did because it turned out to be a solid four-star read.

The story follows Abby, whose fiancée, Eszter, tragically died from a food allergy while on a solo trip to Isla Colel—just one day before Abby was supposed to visit. Reeling from the loss, Abby decides to travel to the island four months later, hoping to uncover the truth about Eszter’s death. There, she meets the tight-knit group of expats that Eszter befriended, immediately understanding why she was drawn to them. They are charismatic, welcoming, and effortlessly charming. But as Abby spends more time on the island, she starts to realize that not everyone is as honest as they seem… including Eszter.

One of the strengths of this book is its structure—each chapter offers different perspectives and timelines, keeping the mystery layered and engaging. Abby’s love for Eszter and her relentless pursuit of the truth add emotional depth to the suspense. The twists kept me on my toes, and I appreciated how the story slowly unraveled, revealing secrets I didn’t see coming.

While this wasn’t a full five-star read for me, it was an enjoyable and well-crafted thriller with a unique setting and an intriguing premise. Bartz delivered a compelling mystery that kept me invested, and I’m glad I gave her work another shot. If you’re looking for a suspenseful, atmospheric read with plenty of secrets to unravel, The Last Ferry Out is worth picking up.

Some plot holes but generally enjoyable and quick read.

I write haiku reviews on Instagram and star reviews on goodreads, but am happy to provide additional feedback, if desired.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts! I started this book while I was on a Caribbean cruise, which was perfect as it really had me immersed in the setting and beautiful descriptions of the island. Sapphic psychological thriller? YES MA’AM!

The story follows Abby on her quest to figure out what really happened to the love of her life and fiancée, who died under mysterious circumstances while on a remote tropical island. In this journey Abby meets a group of expats that she can’t quite figure out. Who is lying, and what happened to Eszther?

Overall, I felt this book a little all over the place and really put the SLOW in slow burn. I wish we had a little bit more chemistry between the main characters, because their relationship felt really forced and flat. I loved how descriptive it was - I could truly place myself in the scene (being in Cozumel helped, I’m sure!)

3.5 stars rounded up! I will definitely be checking out more from this author!

Andrea Bartz did a fantastic job with this book! It had me on my toes with guessing what was happening. I wasn’t even close to knowing what was going to happen in the end. I felt the characters were well explained. I do appreciate how each chapter would state on whose POV it would be. I would highly recommend The Last Ferry!

Thank you to the publisher for letting me read an e-ARC of this book!

This isn't the kind of thriller that will give you nightmares, but it is the kind of thriller that will have you turning pages late into the night and then give you dreams about wandering around a tropical island (at least it did for me).

Truthfully, I'm not sure I'd call this book a thriller at all. The first half felt more like a mystery—maybe even a cozy one—with some more thriller elements coming in the latter half of the book. Genre aside, it's an enjoyable suspense novel overall.

The story follows Abby as she lands ashore on a remote Mexican island, where four months earlier her fiancé died of anaphylaxis, to learn more about her fiancé's final days. The island, however, is inhabited by a group of expats who live on the island to escape their checkered pasts—and who don't want their secrets, no matter how innocent, to be revealed.

This was a nice, quick, suspenseful read with a slow burn build to a thrilling and satisfying ending. I am never left disappointed by Bartz's books.

The Last Ferry Out (May 2025)
By Andrea Bartz
Random House Publishing–Ballantine Books, 320 pages
★★★

Mysteries and thrillers frequently parallel Alfred Hitchcock movies in that most have details that defy logic and probability. As Hitchcock observed, if you do the details well, your audience won’t notice. The new Andrea Bartz novel The Last Ferry Out works well as a heart-thumping thriller, but is marred by too much foreshadowing and forced resolution. It partially redeems itself by exposing the flaws of internalized colonial thinking.

Bartz’s protagonists are Abby and Eszter, a couple who met at the University of Wisconsin and, at age 27, became engaged. They are besotted with each other, though they are an odd couple. Abby grew up with an indecisive alcoholic mother, couldn’t wait to be out on her own, has minimal contact with her mother, and is an extrovert who goes hard (sometimes too fast) at things she wants. Estzer is a child of a successful Hungarian/Jewish immigrant family, but is introverted, analytical, and deliberate. Her parents don’t outwardly condemn her choices, but give little outward sign of agreeing with them or of embracing Abby. This enrages Abby, who reminds her beloved that she is an adult who doesn’t need their permission to get married. To Abby’s chagrin, Eszter wants to have a relationship with her parents.

Both young women are socially conscious. Eszter’s portfolio project at UWI–the feasibility of pairing those with resources with those without by opening a hybrid high-end resort that subsidizes low-income housing–evoked equal parts admiration and skepticism. Insofar as Abby knows, Eszter abandoned it as impractical. She tells Abby she is going to Miami to think things through. Abby, in turn, imagines that Eszter is getting cold feet. Has her father talked her out of getting married?

Bigger shocks await. Abby has actually gone to Isla Colel, a Mexican island off the Yucatan peninsula. (It’s an invention, though it shares some physical characteristics with Isla Mujeres near Cancun.) Abby is devastated but filled with questions when she discovers that Eszter died of anaphylaxis there after accidentally consuming orejas cookies that contained nuts. Where was her EpiPen, which she so assiduously carried everywhere? Why didn’t she write and where is her journal? Why did Eszter lie to Abby about her whereabouts? Abby is inconsolable, hence she puts her job on de facto hold to go to Isla Colel, grieve, and investigate.

The bulk of the novel takes place on the island, which holds surprises of its own. The titular ferry to the mainland only runs once a week. It was once a tourist destination until a hurricane blasted its infrastructure. It is now home to an offbeat, tightknit assortment of expatriates, and locals who don’t find them as charming as they think they are. The oldest emigrant is German-born Rita, who acts as an experienced elder to the non-native community. Among the others on the island is hyper-sensitive Brady, who left his homophobic home in Australia; LA-born naturalist Pedro; and Amari, a gorgeous lesbian. The expats are carefree and gay-positive, as if a band of 20th century hippies were crossed with 21st century college students. (One wonders if Bartz intended her title to be a faint pun!)

Most of the ex-pats rent from grumpy islander Gloria, whose husband Esteban is a fisherman whose fair-weather boat is one of the few private vessels on Isla Colel. He holds his views inside, but it seems as if everyone on the island holds secrets of one sort or another. Thus, Abby’s search for answers runs up against what is not said, temperamental WiFi, diversions, bad weather, Eszter’s lies, and dissuasion. Abby is suspicious of everyone she encounters, but how does one investigate without trusting someone or hastily jumping to conclusions?

NA (new adult) readers will probably find The Last Ferry Out satisfying and sensitive. As an older reviewer, I admired the strong framework Bartz established and her attempts to normalize non-heterosexuals. Yet, I also felt that the novel packed less wallop than it should have. There was too much petulance from major characters old enough to know better, and too many telegraphed clues and coincidences. The post-island revelations perhaps soothe, but they made me think of Hitchcock’s warning.

If Bartz’s target audience is indeed the NA sector, The Last Ferry Out is the ticket aboard. Older readers, though, may long for something–for lack of a better term–more literary.

Rob Weir

I thought this book was OK. I didn’t really connect to any of the characters and it was a bit slow in multiple places. I was surprised by Brady’s involvement as I had suspected Pedro instead. The end was also quite the surprise.

I so badly wanted to love this book but it ended up me barely liking it. The build up was so good with lots of possibilities but there was barely a resolution, and a whole lot of over explaining.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed that the main characters were a queer couple without it being the major focus of the story. I appreciated that it was treated like any other relationship and did not become the reason for violence or a point of homophobia within the story.

I also loved the multiple types of characters that were presented throughout the story and the way they seemingly wove together, despite being vastly different from one another but shared a desire to 'start over' or live differently.

Andrea Bartz' writing is excellent. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of Colel and the nature. I felt like I could picture myself there.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! The characters were interesting, the story kept me engaged. I had moments of being enraged by certain characters (don't want to spoil anything!) but in a way that made me want to keep reading.

3.5 stars!